Fewer Tourists Visiting Isle Of Wight

July 26, 2003|By SABINE C. HIRSCHAUER Daily Press

SMITHFIELD — You wouldn't know it by looking at Main Street on a typical afternoon, but local tourism officials say the economy, the threat of terrorism, the war and a wet spring have taken its toll on the ham capital.

For the first time in 12 years, the number of tourists in Isle of Wight has declined.

"People are just not spending money," said Diane Spencer-Woolley, director of the Smithfield and Isle of Wight Convention and Visitors Bureau. "People are staying at home."

Each year, Smithfield and Isle of Wight draw tourists to its antique shops, historic walking tours, St. Luke's Church, the oldest Gothic church in the United States, and to Boykin's Tavern, a recently renovated tavern built in 1762.

In June the county counted 12 percent fewer visitors compared with June of last year. St. Luke's, for example, saw 500 -- or 16 percent -- fewer visitors from February to June this year compared to the same period last year.

Losing tourist dollars is a first for Isle of Wight.

Even after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which plunged tourism hotspots such as Williamsburg and Disneyland into a financial tailspin, the county's tourist numbers plowed steadily ahead. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2002, tourism overall was up 10 percent.

"People felt safe coming here," Spencer-Woolley said.

The visitors bureau tracks its tourism numbers by counting how many tourists stop at the office on Main Street. Last summer, the bureau relocated farther down on Main Street. The more distant location might have added to a few tourists not checking in, said Spencer-Woolley, but it does not explain the overall decline.

Both the number of group tours coming to town and participation in Smithfield's historic walking tours -- a big draw for tourists -- dropped.

In fact, Isle of Wight and Smithfield are following a regional downward trend.

"It's the economy and the war and the fear to travel," said David Schelte, executive director of the Williamsburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "And the rain didn't help."

Main Street's business community, closely linked to tourism in Smithfield, is more of a mixed bag.

"Our dollars haven't really suffered," said Jim Abicht, who owns The Christmas Store and an antique store on Main Street. "Right now it's a buyer's market. We can buy things now cheaper and sell it for less."

Tourists haven't stayed away altogether.

Like Jack and Scott Trafton, who came from Washington, D.C.

"I grew up in Norfolk," Jack Trafton said. "I haven't been here in 50 some years."

A bag of peanuts in their hands, cameras slung around their necks, Jack Trafton and his son Scott strolled after a hearty southern breakfast at The Smithfield Inn, which is bucking the trend. It is so solidly booked that it recently raised weekend rates by 8 percent.

"We heard about the whole revitalization here in Main Street," said Scott Trafton. "We wanted to check it out."

As president of the local Historic District Business Association, however, Abicht knows other merchants have suffered.

The Pamdora's Box bookstore is closing in August due to poor sales.

"It's so-so," said Chris Dewing, owner of the popular candy hangout Grampy's Lucky Penny on Main Street.

Dewing, in her fifth year in business, hoped to break even by now, but she has to dip deeper into savings to keep going.

"I am just too stubborn to quit," Dewing said. "I ordered Christmas stuff. I will be here at least until then."

Others are also waiting -- and hoping.

'There is no one solution to the problem," Spencer-Woolley said, "until the economy improves."

Sabine C. Hirschauer can be reached at 247-4536 or by e-mail at shirschauer @dailypress.com

TOURISM SLUMPING

Fewer tourists have gone to Smithfield and Isle of Wight this year. Here are the declines compared with last year: